


crushes get handcuffed for 24 hours

by orphan_account



Category: NCT (Band), SuperM (Korea Band), WayV (Band)
Genre: M/M, Pining, Pre-Relationship
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-02-19
Updated: 2020-02-19
Packaged: 2021-02-28 01:07:37
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,549
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22805344
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: “One final question,” Taeyong pipes up at the side before they could stand up. “Do you have a crush on each other?”Mark lets out a soft laugh and glances nervously at Lucas to check his reaction. The man looks at him and gives him a broad smile in return, not bothering answering the question as he tugs him up—only for them to fall back onto the couch with a soft thud.Maybe, Mark thinks while laughing at Lucas’ antics, this wouldn’t be as bad as he had initially thought it would be.
Relationships: Mark Lee/Wong Yuk Hei | Lucas
Comments: 7
Kudos: 128





	crushes get handcuffed for 24 hours

**Author's Note:**

> inspired by this [Buzzfeed](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B8VObDUWYOc) video with the same title :)

**ANTE HOUR**  
9:00 AM - 9:59 AM

This is an incredibly bad idea.

He knows this whole thing is partially his fault—possibly a product of all of the unexcused tardiness he has accumulated over the past month—but somewhere in his mind, he firmly believes that this isn’t just a spur-of-the-moment concept that Taeyong and Kun have magically whipped out of their magic hats.

“What’s up, everyone? I’m Lucas,” the man sitting beside him says loudly, his booming voice seemingly scolding him that he really should stop getting lost in his own thoughts while filming, before looking at him expectantly with an outstretched hand.

He smiles, uncertain as to whether he really wants to do this or not, but manages to wave a hand at the camera. “Hello, I go by the name of Mark.”

“And today...” Lucas trails off, nudging Mark to complete their supposedly rehearsed line. Mark turns to him and slowly tries to say it with the other, “We’re going to be handcuffed together for twenty-four hours.”

Lucas grins and Mark couldn’t help but chuckle as he shakes his head at the absurdity of what they’ve just said together.

It’s their punishment for having the highest lost hours percentage in their respective teams, their team leaders both informed them this morning, and it’s either this or being the second floor’s errand boys for a month.

Seeing as there are at least three hundred people working on their floor, Mark supposes they chose the right—albeit embarrassing—choice.

“This is really a bad idea,” Mark mumbles under his breath, fully knowing that it would still be picked up by the microphone attached to him, and involuntarily pinches the root of his nose.

“It can’t be that bad,” Lucas says in an unusually serious tone, “I mean, you’re stuck with a handsome guy, after all.”

Mark stares at him with a blank expression for a moment, waiting for Lucas to crack under his gaze, and cackles as soon as the man shows the telltale signs of failing to stifle a laugh.

“Can you guys tell us more about your relationship?” Taeyong suddenly asks them from behind the camera.

“We’re not in a relationship,” Mark blurts out way too quickly at the same time Lucas replies with a confident, “Of course.”

The man raises a brow at him, somewhat looking amused at his sudden panic, before turning to the camera to explain. “If you can’t tell, we’re coworkers, but we’re actually also really great friends. We’ve known each other for, _what_ , about a year now?”

“Yeah,” Mark says with a nod. “You’ve probably seen us in a series called On Repeat and we’ve also appeared in a mini-series called Mismatch. We’re not, however, in the same team together. We basically just work on the same floor.”

“Didn’t stop everyone from teasing us with each other every chance they get, though,” Lucas comments.

“Probably because we’re the same age.”

“People in the comments also ship us. I don’t really get why,” Lucas tells the camera. Mark shoots him a look, trying to figure out where he’s going with this, but the other doesn’t even spare him a glance and instead looks at the camera wistfully and mutters, “Maybe it’s because we have really good chemistry.”

“I really don’t think so, dude,” he says with a scoff and Lucas turns to him, probably trying to get him to agree to what he has just said. Mark shakes his head. “You’re ridiculous.”

“Lying to yourself isn’t a good color on you, Mark.”

Kun clears his throat, catching both of their attention. “Why are you both still single?”

“Still waiting for the right person, I guess.” Lucas shrugs, looking at him as he waits for his answer. Mark feels himself flush, tilting his head slightly to the side and plays it off as if he’s thinking about it. “Uh... probably the same? I’m also busy with work so I think that’s a big factor.”

Behind the camera, he catches the knowing look that Kun gives him, a little too intense and amused for his own liking, and Mark consciously runs a hand through his hair, trying to dumb down the feeling of being exposed under Kun’s scrutiny.

Lucas, _fortunately_ , doesn’t seem to notice their little interaction as he clasps his hands together before reading the words on Taeyong’s cue cards. “It’s now six minutes to ten. We’re waiting for the clock’s hands to land at exactly ten o’clock and then we’ll see how this whole thing pans out.”

“We can remove the handcuff four times and they will be solely reserved for bathroom breaks,” Mark reads out, giving a quiet sigh of relief at the knowledge that it isn’t a full-on handcuff challenge. “The key will be with me at all times in case we need to go on a bathroom break.”

Lucas takes the chain handcuffs from Kun and looks directly into Mark’s eyes. “Are you ready for this?”

Mark only nods, taking in a deep breath as Lucas secures one ring of the handcuffs to Mark’s left wrist while he takes the other on his right. There’s only one key available to their handcuffs and Kun thankfully provides a chain necklace to attach it with.

Once they have it all sorted out, Mark turns to the camera and makes a peace sign with his right hand. “Let’s get it.”

“One final question,” Taeyong pipes up at the side before they could stand up. “Do you have a crush on each other?”

Mark lets out a soft laugh and glances nervously at Lucas to check his reaction. The man looks at him and gives him a broad smile in return, not bothering answering the question as he tugs him up—only for them to fall back onto the couch with a soft thud.

Maybe, Mark thinks while laughing at Lucas’ antics, this wouldn’t be as bad as he had initially thought it would be.

🕙

**HOUR ONE TO FIVE**  
10:00 AM - 2:59 PM

“Have you two finally sealed the deal?”

Mark turns to the direction of the voice, subtly adjusting the camera angle to focus more on Lucas, and makes a face at Donghyuck—who takes a photo of them in return.

Mark glares at him.

They’ve been told that they’re obligated to stay in the office until lunchtime before they could go forth with their day and even though Lucas keeps complaining about it, Mark supposes it’s a good thing since they don’t have to do anything for two hours.

The downside, however, is that they’ll have to hear everything their coworkers would throw at them.

“This is just for a video,” Lucas replies, and Mark catches in his periphery the way the other sneaks a peek at him after answering.

“Sure,” Donghyuck says, drawling out the word with a glint of amusement dancing in his eyes. He inserts himself onto the frame, looping an arm around Mark, and waves energetically at the camera. “If these two ever tell you that they don’t like each other, don’t believe them.”

“They talk about each other all the time,” Chenle practically yells from his desk and wiggles his eyebrows at them. “Nonstop.”

“See.” Mark practically entangles himself away from Donghyuck while talking to the camera. “This is what we have to experience every day in the office.”

“Does it bother you?” Lucas asks quietly.

Mark regards him for a second, noting the concern in his tone, before shrugging. “I’m used to it.”

Lucas nods, mouth in a tight, flat line, and doesn’t say anything else as they walk out of the building. Mark feels an urge to ask him the same question, wondering if the other just rides with their coworkers’ jokes for the sake of keeping a fun work environment, but stops himself.

He doesn’t need any more awkwardness between them.

Mark turns off the camera for a moment while Lucas calls his driver. It’s a lot safer this way, the man told him, they wouldn’t need to worry about being distracted by the clinking noise of the handcuff.

The car arrives after fifteen minutes and Lucas decides to take hold of the camera while inside they’re inside, leaning all the way back and extending his left arm to capture both of them. “How do we plan this, by the way?”

“We can just sit and do nothing,” Mark replies.

“That’s a brilliant idea,” Lucas says with a snort, looking at him through the camera’s screen. “But before we forget to mention, we will be staying in Mark’s apartment because mine’s just a big mess.”

“And because I have tons of snacks in my pantry.”

“That, too.” The other grins and winks at the camera. “Speaking of food, we’re actually on our way to my favorite restaurant right now.”

“Taco Bell?”

“...Yes,” Lucas hesitates, looking somewhere between surprised and confused.

It’s a piece of information known only within the other’s teammates and Mark, remembering Lucas exclaim it during an old episode of Mismatch, couldn’t help but feel himself redden at Lucas’ reaction. He quickly shakes it down, thankful when the other speaks again as he jiggles their handcuffs, “I wonder what people will say if they see us like this.”

“They’ll probably think we’re crazy.”

Lucas turns to him this time with a lopsided grin painted on his face. “Crazy... in love?”

Mark blinks at him, suddenly feeling the redness of his cheeks come back in an instant. He turns away before the camera picks up the color on his face and mutters, “I hate you.”

Except he really doesn’t.

🕒

**HOUR FIVE TO TEN**  
3:00 PM - 7:59 PM

Mark has zero ideas why they still keep the handcuffs on them when they can remove it while the camera isn’t rolling.

They’ve spent the last few hours walking around the mall, taking only small clips of each place they’ve gone to after finding out that holding a camera for too long actually tires the hell out of their arms.

He hears a soft _ting!_ from his pocket and checks his phone, clicking his tongue as he reads the message. Mark turns to Lucas, who’s checking himself out in the camera’s flip screen.

“Taeyong just messaged me to ask how everything’s going,” Mark tells him before making an annoyed face at the camera.

“I’d say it’s going smoothly.”

“You think so?”

“Of course,” Lucas says with conviction before raising a brow in question at Mark. “Please don’t tell me you think all of this is a huge disaster.”

“It’s... fun, I guess.”

There’s a subtle look of surprise passing through Lucas’ face, but it’s gone as soon as the other clutches at his chest with his free hand and starts feigning offense. “Anywhere with me is fun.”

“Okay, Mr. Talk, slow down.” Mark takes the camera from Lucas and pans it the other way, showing the view outside of the car’s windows. He puts Lucas in the last frame for good measure before turning it around to face them again.

“If you guys are wondering, we’re now on our way down to my apartment. It’s currently five thirty-three so we’ll be preparing dinner once we get there.”

“We’re also going to watch a movie after we eat,” Lucas adds in, leaning way too close for Mark not to feel his heart rate speed up.

Mark, to his credit, rolls with it. “That, too. Probably Midsommar or The Perfection since we haven’t seen those two yet.”

The other glances at him and Mark can’t help but turn away from the camera as well, eyes landing directly into Lucas’ dark-tinged contact lenses. He doesn’t know why, but he feels a hollow pit in his stomach opening just at the way the other’s face lights up.

“We should watch a rom-com,” Lucas says out of nowhere, pulling Mark out of his reverie.

“What?”

Mark blinks rapidly, almost forgetting both the camera he’s holding and being handcuffed to Lucas until the other man turns back to the flip screen with a smile. “The Princess Bride sounds nice.”

“Are you serious right now?”

“I’m always serious, Mark,” Lucas informs him in a surprisingly deep voice as he stares at him through their mirrored reflection. “Especially when it comes to you.”

Mark stops, digesting what Lucas’ words, and decides to force out a laugh to hide the loud beating of his heart. He shakes his head and awkwardly pats Lucas’ left forearm with his right hand before giving the camera to the other and pulling out his phone. “No wonder people always ask why you’re still single.”

“Because I’m incredibly good-looking?”

Mark snorts. “No, it’s because you’re a big flirt.”

“Is it working on you, at least?”

He moves his gaze down to his phone and pretends to message someone, trying to discreetly hide his face from the camera. “Nope.”

Lucas hums and leans on his own seat’s headrest, covering Mark’s left hand with his right to draw circles with his thumb. Mark swallows and looks up at the other who just winks at him.

“Guess I’ll just have to try harder, then.”

🕗

**HOUR TEN TO FIFTEEN**  
8:00 PM - 12:59 AM

Life, Mark supposes, is funny this way.

Not that he wants to put any blame on any of his work friends, but he’s about ninety percent sure that he wouldn’t have this crisis right now if Jungwoo hadn’t said something to him back when they were filming On Repeat.

 _You and Lucas look really cute together_ , Jungwoo had told him when they were in Ukraine, _and the way you two look at each other? Chef’s kiss._

For months, Mark has managed to brush it all off as a joke, making sure to only befriend Lucas instead and put an end to any possible romantic attraction that he could ever develop for him.

_Easy._

Except... it’s a lot harder than he thought it would be.

“We actually uncuffed ourselves to shower and change our clothes,” Lucas tells the camera as he props it up with a book on the bedside table, trying—and failing miserably—to capture his tank top and pajamas in the frame.

They’re now sitting comfortably on his bed with their backs pressed on the headboard and pillows stacked on their laps, but Mark couldn’t help but give the other a playful glare. “It’s a quarter past ten o’clock and we’re just browsing through Netflix right now because someone can’t make up his mind.”

“We’re going to watch the best movie of all time,” Lucas says casually, hugging one of Mark’s pillows with his left arm.

“Please don’t tell me it’s Die Hard.”

The other only smiles, taking the remote control between them and scrolls through the Trending Now category for about a minute until he saw what he was looking for. “Bingo.”

_Twilight._

Mark huffs a laugh and shakes his head, snatching the remote from Lucas to press the play button and puts it next to the camera before leaning his head back onto the headboard, settling in comfortably on his bed.

“Hey,” the other calls out softly around the fifty-minute mark, and Mark only hums quietly, not bothering to avert his gaze from the movie, when Lucas’ hand enters his line of sight.

The other doesn’t say anything as he gently tips Mark’s head down to his place on shoulder, making sure they’re both comfortable with the position, and shifts his right hand closer to Mark’s left, lacing their pinky fingers together without taking his eyes off the television.

Mark freezes as soon as his temple hits the fabric of Lucas’ shirt, unsure how to respond and what to make of the other’s actions.

Okay, _sure_ , maybe he has this teensy-weensy crush on Lucas because who wouldn’t? The man has a great personality and a good sense of humor. There’s a long line of people are vying for the other’s attention so he tries not to make a big deal out of it.

Except for when he gets this fluttering feeling in his stomach whenever Lucas does even just the teensiest-weensiest thing around him.

And so Mark keeps his head on Lucas’ shoulder until the movie ends, not even daring to move even the slightest of movements just so the magic won’t disappear.

“Jake and Edward should’ve ended up together,” Lucas remarks while the credits roll. Mark looks up, vaguely registering how close their faces are, and scrunches up his nose before taking the camera from the bedside table. “We’ve finally finished watching Twilight and now we’re getting ready to sleep. I’ll be staying on my side of the bed and Lucas be staying on his side of the bed.”

Lucas chuckles. “As if you’ll be able to resist cuddling me.”

“There will be _no_ cuddling,” Mark tells the camera with a stern voice, but immediately bursts into laughter when he sees Lucas making faces behind him.

He switches the camera off after going over the things they’ve done for the day then fixes his position on the bed, deliberately ignoring the fact that their hands are still intertwined. Mark steals one last glance at the other—who already has his eyes closed—before finally closing his eyes.

If he falls asleep with a small smile on his face, it’s entirely Lucas’ fault.

🕐

**HOUR FIFTEEN TO TWENTY-ONE**  
1:00 - 6:59 AM

He wakes up to something heavy resting on his chest.

Mark rolls his head to the left and opens his eyes slowly, trying to adjust his vision to the brightness of the room, only for him to see hair.

Half of Lucas’ head rests comfortably on his chest while the other has his left arm loosely wrapped around Mark’s waist.

The panic and confusion in their position must’ve flown off of his head, Mark supposes, as he watches Lucas sleep for a moment, admiring the peaceful look on the other’s face while burning the image into his memory at the same time.

Mark carefully reaches for the key to their handcuffs from the bedside drawer on Lucas’ side, moving the other’s head lightly as he does his best not to wake him up. His fingers almost touch the chain hanging from the edges of the drawer, stretching his right arm further across Lucas’ sleeping form, when the other suddenly shifts, bringing their faces dangerously close to each other’s.

Lucas looks... beautiful.

Which is a completely absurd observation, Mark scolds himself, considering that he’s just been watching him a few minutes before.

He’s seen the other’s face up-close multiple times, most of them during filming, and he knows how attractive and charming Lucas can be even while doing the bare minimum—heck, that’s one of the reasons he likes him in the first place—but really seeing all details of the other’s face brings up a lot of unsolicited feelings that Mark has been trying to pass off as nothing.

Lucas, _thankfully_ , shifts to his side with a groan, startling Mark and conveniently breaking the spell he’s managed to trap him in.

Mark takes it as a sign to move along.

The thing is, he’s always viewed Lucas as someone who’s way too out of his league, someone who’s too unattainable, and he’ll probably never address this but he has always felt invisible in the office whenever he’s with the other. He supposes that’s a good thing—considering everyone can’t seem to take their eyes and hands off of Lucas.

“Good morning,” he hears the other’s groggy voice call from behind.

Mark turns around, scraping off the last few pieces of bacon from the pan and putting them onto the two plates filled with pancakes and eggs on the island countertop, before waving his greased up spatula in greeting. “Good morning.”

“How long have you been up?” Lucas asks, leaning on the doorframe as he softly massages his right wrist with his left thumb, probably to ease the strain from the handcuffs, and subtly studies the print on Mark’s apron.

“About half an hour ago,” he replies, taking the pot off his coffee maker and pouring its contents into a mug. “I made breakfast. Coffee?”

Lucas stares at him dumbly for a moment, eyes still trying to process what the print on his apron is, before nodding. _Thanks for nothing, Detective Conan_ , Mark thinks to himself, mentally cursing himself for buying an apron with Detective Conan’s uniform on it.

Mark proceeds to take one of the mugs from his cabinets and hands it over to Lucas who still looks mildly lost.

“I have to say, Mark,” the other says after a moment of silence while Mark tries very carefully not to spill the coffee on either Lucas’ hand or on his own carpet, “this is awfully domestic of us.”

He glares at him the moment he’s filled the mug. “This is just me being a good host to a house guest.”

“Sure,” Lucas quips with a smile after taking a sip of his coffee, throwing a wink at Mark, who only rolls his eyes in response, for good measure. He goes back to the sink, inserting the pot of coffee he’s holding back into the coffee maker, before washing his hands and patting them dry.

“We should go back to bed and record something before we eat,” Mark tells him as he’s taking off his apron and putting the kitchenware he’s used in the sink.

He turns back to Lucas, about to tell him to get ready to act, only to see the other grinning at him from the ear to ear.

Mark feels a warm sensation creeping up his neck as he realizes what he’s just said, but decidedly clicks his tongue to the roof of his mouth in annoyance and reaches for the other’s coffee mug, placing it back onto the island counter. “Not like that, you idiot.”

“I didn’t even say anything, pervert,” Lucas counters with a chuckle, looping an arm around him and practically drags him back into his bedroom.

With the way his heart’s jumping up and down, Mark thinks he should really stop drinking caffeine.

🕖

**HOUR TWENTY-ONE TO TWENTY-FOUR**  
7:00 AM - 10:00 AM

“We’re now on our way to the studio and we’re not late.”

Lucas angles the camera away from them with one hand to show their company’s building, subtly tugging at Mark’s hand as he motions for him to walk faster. They’ve managed to arrive exactly fifteen minutes earlier than their scheduled call time after cheating their whole morning routine and, for the first time in months, they’re earlier than the rest of the people on the second floor.

The other leads the way, barging in inside the studio where they’ve filmed the day before, and loudly announces their arrival with, “Rise and shine, my dudes.”

“You two are early,” Kun says with a furrowed brow as if he’s surprised and skeptical at the same time. He takes their camera from Lucas and turns it off, gesturing for both of them to take their seats in front of the main camera. Kun instructs them to get comfortable while they set up the backdrop and test the microphones.

Taeyong, in turn, lazily switches the necessary lightings and other equipment on before finally going offscreen and counting down from three with his fingers.

“How did you two sleep?”

Mark shrugs, glancing over at Lucas to see his reaction at the question. The other only has a small smile, almost identical to the one he uses when he’s about to say something bizarre to get a rise out of Mark. “Like normal people.”

“Did you cuddle?” Kun asks, sounding genuinely curious.

“No,” Mark answers almost immediately to which Lucas only replied with, “ _Mmhmm_.”

“Overall, what do you think of this challenge?”

“This has been really fun.” Lucas looks at him and taps a finger on Mark’s left knee. “I think we got closer. Right, Mark?”

“Definitely,” he says with a nod. “I thought it would be weird at first because being handcuffed to your coworker is not something that I would really encourage, but, yeah, it turned out surprisingly normal.”

The two question them back and forth, asking them to explain their eating and sleeping situation, how they managed to sleep without hurting their wrists, and a lot of other questions that Mark hopes won’t make the final cut.

“It’s now exactly ten o’clock. You can uncuff yourselves.”

Mark sighs, a mixture of relief and an emotion he can’t seem to put his finger on, and takes the chain off his neck, handing it over to Lucas. “Would you like to do the honors?”

The other accepts it eagerly, raising both of their wrists to show the camera.

“If given the chance, would you do this all over again?”

“Of course.” Mark hears Lucas answer without hesitation. “But hopefully without the handcuffs next time.”

⏰

**AFTER-HOURS**

“That was fun.”

Mark looks up from the report he’s reading and sees Lucas in an office chair in front of him. It’s been hours since they’ve finished filming the video, but he swears he could feel the other’s gaze at him even from across their office.

“Too bad,” Mark says as he looks back at the report. “I was just getting used to you being attached to my side.”

Lucas doesn’t say anything for a couple of minutes—which is a relief, Mark supposes, it’s only going to be a matter of time before he scares him away—until he hears the office chair give out a crackling sound followed by the sound of someone clearing their throat.

“Do you want me to be?”

Mark snorts. “Okay, dude, we can drop the act now.”

“I’m not acting.”

“Yes, you are,” Mark tells him, closing the folder he’s holding and puts it on top of the paper rack on his desk. He crosses his arms as he faces Lucas, watching the other’s facial expression shift into a more serious look. “You don’t need to keep the act.”

The other, however, shifts his eyes, prompting Mark to follow the other’s gaze as he looks around them, catching the way everyone seems to immediately avert their eyes away from them. Lucas turns back to him, voice dropping to a whisper. “Would it really be a bad idea if I tell you that I like you?”

“You’re not serious.”

“ _I am_.” Lucas runs a hand through his hair and nods his head to the side, motioning at their coworkers. “You’re actually kind of the only one who hasn’t noticed it yet.”

Mark roams his eyes, seeing his coworkers raise their thumbs at him with wide grins on their faces. He gulps, turning back to Lucas. “I... really don’t know what to say.”

The other flashes his teeth, as if he couldn’t contain the smile he’s been holding and nods sympathetically.

“How about,” Lucas pauses, extending a hand out to him. “We go out for dinner first, and then we’ll see how things go from there?”

He hesitantly reaches out, ignoring the loud cheers and whistles of their colleagues, and locks his gaze down at their intertwined fingers.

Mark looks back up, meeting Lucas’ eyes before shaking his head in amusement. He squeezes the other’s hand softly.

_A silent promise._

“Sounds good.”

They’ve just found their next video title.

**Author's Note:**

> hey, hmu on [twitter](https://www.twitter.com/yukhmark)! (♡˙︶˙♡)


End file.
